Takeshi Obata facts for kids

Takeshi Obata (小畑 健, Obata Takeshi, born February 11, 1969) is a famous Japanese manga artist. He usually works as an illustrator, drawing the pictures for stories written by others. He first became well-known around the world for Hikaru no Go (1999–2003), which he created with Yumi Hotta. However, he is even more famous for Death Note (2003–2006) and Bakuman (2008–2012), both of which he made with Tsugumi Ohba. Takeshi Obata has also helped many other manga artists learn and grow, including Nobuhiro Watsuki (who created Rurouni Kenshin), Kentaro Yabuki (who created Black Cat), and Yusuke Murata (who drew Eyeshield 21).

Obata's Creative Journey

Takeshi Obata decided to become a manga artist because he always loved to draw. When he was a child, he read Shotaro Ishinomori's Cyborg 009 many times. His very first published manga appeared in his elementary school newspaper when he was in third grade. It was about a hero who could turn into a disposable pocket warmer when he was in trouble.

Obata first got noticed in 1985. He won a prize in the Tezuka Award for his short story called 500 Kōnen no Shinwa. After joining the Weekly Shōnen Jump team, he learned from Makoto Niwano. Then, in 1989, he started his first big series, writing and drawing Cyborg Jii-chan G. After this, Obata began working with other writers, focusing on his amazing drawing skills.

Working with Writers

Sakon, the Ventriloquist, which he made with writer Sharakumaro, was his first work to be turned into an anime TV show. Next, he created Hikaru no Go with Yumi Hotta. This manga won the 1999 Shogakukan Manga Award and the 2003 Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize. With 25 million copies sold, it was also made into an anime and was his first work released in North America.

In 2003, he teamed up with Tsugumi Ohba to create Death Note. This became his biggest hit so far, with 30 million copies sold. It was adapted into an anime, five live-action movies, two live-action TV dramas, and even a musical! From 2006 to 2007, Obata also drew Blue Dragon Ral Grad, a manga based on the Blue Dragon video game.

In 2007, he drew a short story called "Hello Baby" with writer Masanori Morita. A year later, he worked with Nisio Isin on "Urōboe Uroboros!".

He then worked with Tsugumi Ohba again for Bakuman., which ran from 2008 to 2012. This was the first manga from Shueisha (a big publishing company) to be released online in many languages before being printed outside Japan. By 2014, over 15 million copies were in print. In 2014, he drew a manga version of All You Need Is Kill with Ryōsuke Takeuchi. He also worked with Nisio Isin again on a short story called "RKD-EK9".

Obata then worked with Nobuaki Enoki to restart Enoki's digital short story School Judgment: Gakkyu Hotei as a series in 2015. This series was also published in English in the digital Weekly Shonen Jump.

From 2015 to 2021, Obata created another series with Ohba called Platinum End. This manga ended in January 2021 and had over 4.5 million copies in circulation by December 2020. An anime version started airing in October 2021. In October 2021, Obata began a new manga series called Show-ha Shoten! with novelist Akinari Asakura. This series is about owarai, which is Japanese comedy.

Other Artistic Projects

Besides his manga work, Obata has also designed characters for the video game Castlevania Judgment. He has also illustrated several light novels, which are short novels with illustrations. He designed characters for anime versions of famous Japanese books like Osamu Dazai's No Longer Human and Natsume Sōseki's Kokoro. These were part of the Aoi Bungaku series.

He even drew manga pages that were used in the 2015 live-action movie of Bakuman. These drawings were later published in a book called Eiga Bakuman. Takeshi Obata Illustration Works. He also designed a new CGI character for the 2016 Death Note: Light Up the New World live-action movie. In 2016, his 2006 art book Blanc et Noir was published in North America.

Works

Manga

• 500 Kōnen no Shinwa (500光年の神話) (1985)
• Cyborg Jii-chan G (CYBORGじいちゃんG（サイボーグじいちゃんジー）) (1989)
• Arabian Lamp Lamp (魔神冒険譚(アラビアン)ランプ・ランプ) with Susumu Sendo (1991–1992)
• Chikarabito Densetsu -Oni o Tsugu Mono- (力人伝説 -鬼を継ぐもの-) with Masaru Miyazaki (1992–1993)
• Sakon, the Ventriloquist (人形（からくり）草紙あやつり左近, Karakurizōshi Ayatsuri Sakon) with Sharakumaro (1995–1996)
• Hikaru no Go (ヒカルの碁) with Yumi Hotta and supervised by Yukari Yoshihara (1998–2003)
• Hajime (はじめ) with Otsuichi (2003)
• Death Note with Tsugumi Ohba (2003–2006)
• Ral Grad (BLUE DRAGON ラルΩグラド) with Tsuneo Takano (2006–2007)
• Hello Baby with Masanori Morita (2007)
• Uro-oboe Uroboros! (うろおぼえウロボロス!) with Nisio Isin (2008)
• Bakuman (バクマン。) with Tsugumi Ohba (2008–2012)
• All You Need Is Kill with Ryōsuke Takeuchi (2014)
• RKD-EK9 with Nisio Isin (2014)
• School Judgment: Gakkyu Hotei (学糾法廷, Gakkyū Hōtei) with Nobuaki Enoki (2014–2015)
• Platinum End (プラチナエンド) with Tsugumi Ohba (2015–2021)
• Show-ha Shoten! (ショーハショーテン！) with Akinari Asakura (2021–present)

Art books

• Aya - Hikaru no Go Illustration Collection (彩―ヒカルの碁イラスト集) (April 2002)
• Blanc et Noir (May 31, 2006)
• Eiga Bakuman. Takeshi Obata Illustration Works (映画バクマン。 小畑健イラストワークス) (October 2, 2015)

Awards and Nominations

• 1985 Tezuka Award for "500 Kōnen no Shinwa"
• 1999 Shogakukan Manga Award for Hikaru no Go
• 2003 Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Creative Award for Hikaru no Go
• 2007 Nominated - Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Grand Prize for Death Note
• 2008 Nominated - Angoulême International Comics Festival Official Selection for Death Note
• 2008 Nominated - Eisner Award for Best Penciller/Inker for Death Note
• 2008 Eagle Award for Favourite Manga for Death Note
• 2010 Nominated - Manga Taishō for Bakuman.

See also

In Spanish: Takeshi Obata para niños